He's Dead
by The Asylum of the Devitory
Summary: Bass finally accomplishes his lifelong goal. But why isn't he happy?


He's dead.  
  
He was quite alive a little while ago, but no longer. My Bassbuster made sure of that with a cheap shot in his back. I must admit, I was impressed that the little blue fink managed to critically damage this "Zero" robot of Wily's, taking Zero offline and still manage to function himself. He didn't look like he was in much fighting shape afterwards, he could barely walk.  
  
That's where I came in. Even though I was badly damaged- still am badly damaged, I snuck up behind him just as he collapsed to his knees, muttering to himself in victory.  
  
And I put a shot through his back.  
  
Straight into the small of his back, dead center on his cybernetic spine. He flopped down like a fish flung into a boat from the water on a hook, and lay motionless on the ground. It wasn't the epic battle that I had always thought we would add up into. In fact, now that I think about it, it was nothing short of pure cowardice.  
  
I walked over to Zero first. There the big pile of scrap was, smouldering away with a javelin of ice skewered through his chest. Not very impressive, especially after all of that old fool's gloating about Zero. Self-aware and independant thinking or not, I was betting on Zero to tear my nemesis to pieces. I wish I could have been fighting Rock instead, but my systems were near critical, and I knew that, despite his size, that little blue bomber can put up one hell of a fight. Kicking Zero in the ribs, I rolled the red robot onto his back. He sure was heavy, but I managed to sling him over my shoulder without breaking my already worn endoskeleton.  
  
Next I walked over to Rock. The large hole in his back ended with a large hole in his stomach, spreading a mix of oil and lubricant across the dirt. Fitting, I think, the scrapped body of Rock should be lying dead in the middle of this barren wasteland. Then, just as I took my eyes off of Rock's wound, I found a deep chasm open up within me.  
  
What now?  
  
He's dead.  
  
I've finally accomplished my only goal. I've finally fufilled the only goal that I ever wanted to attain. Now what? Now what do I strive for?  
  
Suddenly, all my arrogance and pride stripped from my systems. It was like I had woken up from a lifelong dream, and now reality had come to slap me in the face.  
  
No. No, I thought, I cannot be empty! I was so full of ambition before his death, and I'll remain that way until the day I die!  
  
I viciously kicked Rock in the ribs as I did Zero, rolling the robot onto his back, spewing his fluids all over his blue armor and scattering his loose inside machinery all around. I looked at his face, still a frozen mix of horror and dismay, and I felt no different. Was this the end? Was this all I had in my life, now nothing but worthless scrap? Lying in a pool of blood before me, just as I had been wishing it for years? No! It's not over yet! I willed my forearm to morph into its arm cannon, pointing the barrel at Rock's face. I'll show you who's empty, Megaman! Fire!  
  
But I didn't fire. And I didn't know why either. Fire!  
  
I didn't.  
  
Fire!  
  
Still nothing.  
  
Fire, damn me, fire!  
  
Nothing still.  
  
Fire his fucking face in, damn it! FIRE!  
  
My cannon was silent. I suddenly collapsed to my knees, spilling Zero's inert body onto the ground behind me.  
  
Then I wondered why this never happened to me. Why the roles between Rock and I were never reversed. Rock had always let me flee in the past, no matter how badly I damaged him. He would let me morph with Treble and watch as the two of us flew off, with me shaking my fist and vowing revenge. Why had Rock shown me that mercy, when I had never seen him and Rush scurry away from me?  
  
Because I'm heartless.  
  
The sudden realization about myself was blunt yet precise, hitting me in the head with a sheer brutality. I would have never given him the chance. I was ruthless in my pursuit to see him dead, so ruthless and focused that it was all I ever thought about. Since the day we first fought, I wanted to see him dead. I wanted to see him lying incapacitated, damaged far beyond repair. The very thought of it domiated my every thought. My every wish, my every dream. My every nightmare. A nightmare, I now realized, now that he was no more, and I had nothing left. What now? Where to from here? Wily and all of his insane little orders he gave me were dead, Zero made sure of that himself before the eyes of Rock and myself.  
  
So here I am. Standing in a barren, empty wasteland with two dead bodues lying around me, with another barren and empty wasteland within me.  
  
I was done. Finished. There was nothing left for me to do.  
  
I picked up Zero again on my shoulder, forcing my eyes away from Rock. His eyes were frozen open, staring at me with blank pupils, a look of utter dismay and mortal horror that suddenly disturbed me ever so much. With my foot, I gently ran my heel over his face, shutting his eyelids and nudging his agape jaw shut. I then walked away from Rock, with Zero slung over my shoulder. I walked without knowing where I was going.  
  
Then again, if I had made one single goal for myself so easily before, what's stopping me from making more...? 


End file.
